In our OT passage today we see how quickly humanity became utterly depraved to the point that God destroyed the entire planet, with the exception of Noah and his family. Fewer than 10 people survived the flood. That is staggering!
I found this image which show the lifespans of the patriarchs from Adam to Noah, with the jagged line representing the flood.
With how long they lived, Adam was still alive during Lamech's (Noah's father) lifetime. How his heart must have broken to see the degeneration of mankind - what a far cry from the perfection of Eden!
Methuselah died the same year as the flood - as he was the son of Enoch, a very godly man, likely he did not die in the flood, but rather before the flood. There is some suggestion that his name may mean "when he dies, it will come" as a prophecy of the flood, though that cannot be certain. Interesting to speculate, though.
This verse jumped out at me in Romans 2....
3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Mankind in general definitely presumes upon the goodness of God. We have become so used to His grace, in particular common grace (things such as sunshine, rain, etc), that we've actually relegated God as irrelevant unless an emergency arises, at which time we pray for a miracle from our wish-granting genie, and become angry if He doesn't give us what we want or need. We blame God for the bad things in our lives, but give Him no credit for the good things.
The truth is, every single good and perfect gift is from Him. Everything. Every breath we take is an act of His grace. A huge reminder not to take His mercies and grace for granted.
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Genesis 7-9, Romans 3
2 comments:
A few things jumped out at me as I read...the first was how old these men were when they became Dads. I mean when you are living 900 years I guess having a baby at 65 or 95 or even 165 is on the younger side but still that was hard for me to wrap my head around. What were they doing before they had their kids? Were they married for many years and unable to have kids or did they get married at 65, 95, or 165 too? I was also wondering where all the women came from that these men were marrying? It doesn't explicitly say that they married their sisters but I'm assuming that was the case.
I found this: on this website (http://christiananswers.net/q-aig/aig-c004.html) Cain was the first child of Adam and Eve recorded in Scripture (Genesis 4:1). His brothers, Abel (Genesis 4:2) and Seth (Genesis 4:25), were part of the first generation of children ever born on this earth.
Even though only these three males are mentioned by name, Adam and Eve had other children. In Genesis 5:4 a statement sums up the life of Adam and Eve—“And the days of Adam after he had fathered Seth were eight hundred years. And he fathered sons and daughters.” This does not say when they were born. Many could have been born in the 130 years (Genesis 5:3) before Seth was born.
During their lives, Adam and Eve had a number of male and female children. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that, “The number of Adam's children, as says the old tradition, was thirty-three sons and twenty-three daughters.”[11]
The Bible does not tell us how many children were born to Adam and Eve. However, considering their long life spans (Adam lived for 930 years—Genesis 5:5), it would seem reasonable to suggest there were many! Remember, They were commanded to “Be fruitful, and multiply” (Genesis 1:28).
Your last comment made me think of something I saw today on a blog that I follow: http://lostbumblebee.blogspot.ca/2015/01/a-simple-reminder.html
As I began to read Genesis chapter 4, I found myself in awe of Cain in what appeared to me as him having a casual conversation with God. We have the ability to communicate with God today by reading His word and by prayer, but this lead me to thinking about our eternity in Heaven and the time we will have to talk one on one with Him!
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